Tag: business

Categories
News

A friendly reminder about life offline

The relationship professionals have with music is a weird, often tumultuous thing. We spend a lot of time wondering whether or not our jobs will still exist in five or ten years, but if anything else in our lives goes wrong it’s our life in music that often gives a sense of peace. It can be both the cause and solution to our problems, sometimes even both.

When the rest of life feels difficult it is easy to bury yourself in work, and in music there is always something to be done. Musicians and business folk alike have a running task list in their mind or mobile notes app with every little thing they have found an excuse to put off for another day. These lists grow and grow, always promising an escape from everything else if we really feel like buckling down to focus on our carers for an hour or two (or until our heads clear).

You can work and work until your entire task list is complete, but when it is done the rest of the world will still be waiting for you. Music cannot save you. Music can aide you, inspire you, heal you, empower you, and even force you to confront feelings you have been trying to avoid, but it is not a replacement for the world we you share with everyone else. The people in your life, the bills you have accrued, and the responsibilities you have shirked for too long are all out there awaiting your attention.

Maybe the things waiting outside music are not even problems at all. Maybe these things scare you because they are unfamiliar. It is not all that different than the time before you learned to appreciate genres other than the one that made you fall in love with music. Country music always seems silly to teens who love punk, but when their punk idols eventually release an acoustic project inspired by a famous Western singer their parent of grandparent enjoyed a whole new world becomes immediately accessible. The same goes for the things you are putting off. They may seem dumb or weird now, but when experienced they often become something else entirely.

But still, even if we want to give these things we shot we tell ourselves work always comes first. We end up clinging to a job that also causes us anxiety and lose sight of what is important solely because we don’t know what changes in the future may bring. This probably won’t help you sleep at night, but the truth of the matter is that change will come whether or not you want it . Change is inevitable with everything, but you can decide whether to embrace it or fight and cause yourself – or others – pain as a result.

Disconnect. Get done what you need to get done, then get outside or at the very least offline and address your immediate surroundings. If you don’t handle your business life will do it for you, and you will not like the results. Stop making work an excuse for a lack of forward momentum and do the things you have been putting off so you might make the changes needed to  in order to better position yourself for the future. If it scares you, run towards it with your fist in the sky and a loud battle cry. You can and will succeed. Stop putting life off and start living it instead.

Categories
News

Haulix founder Matt Brown was featured in Substream Magazine issue 53 back in the fall of 2016. We finally got the go ahead to share that feature online. Enjoy!

Categories
News


In Life and Business, Build It Yourself

One of the more bittersweet struggles in life and business is the wait between having a great idea and being able to act on it. Once you begin turning your ideas into actions your desire to continue doing so becomes unstoppable. You hunger for the next thought because it might be the one that changes everything, or at least something that pushes you a bit further forward in your creative pursuits.

Expressing yourself through action soon becomes purpose, the thing we all seek, and the wait to produce something original can be absolutely maddening. We’d rather pay people to do the work for us or short cut the traditional methods of release for the sake of self-gratification. We seek short cuts and ways around delays because we just have to get our ideas into the world, which is precisely where everyone goes wrong.

When we outsourced work on a new platform early last year, we thought we were doing it for the right reasons. After years of growth and success we had the means to create an updated system for our clients that met many long time demands. In our minds it was a move for them, not us, and it could happen much quicker with additional help in development.

We knew what people needed because we spent our days engaged with them in a dialogue about our product. You know who didn’t? The team we hired to help us build the site.

This is not a slight against them. The entire team was very talented and they helped us build a beautiful system. If only that system actually worked it would have been a gorgeous product release, but as many users know that is the furthest thing from what happened. The release crashed our system for days, leaving clients and members of the media without access to their music. It was a borderline worst case scenario.

We do not blame the team that we hired for this mistake because we knew it was our rush to get a new product out that ultimately lead us astray. We could have built the platform ourselves, but instead we tried to take a short cut in our personal development by seeking help from people unfamiliar with our mission and focus. We asked people to think like us rather than thinking for ourselves.

In the weeks following the failed launch of the new platform we came to a realization: We need a new plan and we still have to pay off the now largely useless updated platform. After much debated we decided to return to our core product and revisit ever single page and tool one item at a time. We made lists of everything we could change and talked about the things we wish we knew how to build ourselves. Instead of one big update we would make several minor updates throughout the year, each furthering the overall quality of our platform.

Our biggest success has been the product of our team working together. We may not be the biggest team in the world, but we are dedicated to our mission and we stop at nothing to deliver high quality work to our consumers. If something we need can be gained through our own efforts then it us our responsibility to see it through.

It doesn’t matter what it is you want to pursue in life. Whether you want to create, teach, build, or work in middle management you need to do the work involved to find true success. Houses and countries and cell phones and stereos do not happen simply because they are wished for. People just like you and me put their own blood, sweat, and tear into something because they wanted to see it exist. They sought like-minded people, but they never relied on them to do the things they wanted.

Don’t seek a legacy –  build one.

James Shotwell is the Director of Customer Engagement at Haulix. He is also a Managing Editor at Substream Magazine and a ten-year music industry veteran. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

Categories
Job Board News


Constant evolution is the key to professional stability

Roughly ten months ago, we (Haulix) messed up. Some of you may remember, but others may not. We planned for over a year to launch a new, completely overhauled version of our leading digital promotional platform, but when the time came for the updated system to go live there were bugs – a LOT of bugs.

We knew something was wrong almost as soon as the new system was live. Even though we had spent months of work on the updated platform, not to mention tens of thousands of dollars, we did not have a way to know if everything would function as it should without turning it on and letting our users run wild. So we tested as much as we could internally, wrote help docs to aide in helping people transition to the new layout, and hoped for the best.

Within hours of the updated system going live we were buried in complaints from clients and members of the media alike. Some could not even load the new site, while those who did encountered a number of bugs. Some people had very few issues, but those cases were decidedly rare. Despite our best efforts, our long-promoted new system was junk.

The next few days passed like a blur, with stress and confusion falling on our team, as well as our clients. Our system wasn’t working, which in turn meant our clients could not do their jobs. It was the worst thing to happen to our business since our launch, and it was entirely our fault.

We quickly realized the fastest way to right our wrongs was to tear the new system out of our service and replace it with the original one. The process took several hours, which came days after the problems first arose, but within a week we were back to where we started with a fully-functional, if somewhat dated platform.

In the weeks that past we came to learn a few things:

  • The people who cared most about the remodeled look of our platform was our own staff. Many clients who were able to access the new platform commented on how drastic the changes to our UI appeared to be. There was a shock value that wasn’t necessarily good.
  • Our core system remained the same on both versions of the platform, meaning despite all the money we spent we were still more or less offering the same product with a few additional bells and whistles.
  • Some of the changes we wanted to make were good, great even, but delivering them all at once could have been confusing. Even longtime clients would have had to learn new ways to navigate our platform.

For months we laid low, allowing clients to conduct their business as usual as we sat in meetings talking about what we should do next. In order to complete the broken update we would have to spend tens of thousands more, but was that really the right move?

Ultimately, we decided to shelve the new system and keep the one we knew was working. Instead of making one drastic change we decided to work on small, meaningful updates that we would release periodically throughout the year. So far in 2017 alone we’ve had no less than three of these updates, each bringing a new tool or capability to our system that would have been found in the overhauled platform.

As these updates have rolled out the response from our users has been largely positive. People appreciate changes that simplify their workflow, and by spacing out the updates we avoid confusing users by delivering too much new stuff at once. In turn, our business has been growing in an industry that is plagued by stories of stagnation or failure.

We still talk about that week in August when everything fell apart. It is something of an embarrassment for all of us, but in hindsight it needed to happen in order for us to understand the difference between what we felt was needed and what our clients actually wanted. We were able to find a path to growth that did not endanger our users understanding of the system, and in fact found great success through an alternative approach to development.

As the year progresses you will see more updates roll out from Haulix. The same goes for the year after that and so on as long as we’re a company. We will never stop growing and changing, but we know now that drastic change is rarely – if ever – the recipe for sustained growth. That kind of success lies in small, meaningful changes over an extended period of time that considers both the needs of our audience and their ability to navigate our system quickly. We stopped listening to ourselves and returned to the people who know us best, the ones who engage with our platform daily, and that has made all the difference.

Categories
Job Board News


The ‘Give a Damn’ Factor

This morning when I woke up the last two things I wanted to do was exercise and work.

You know what I did today, in addition to the dozens of small tasks that consumed my time?

I worked and I went to the gym.

It wasn’t fun. In fact, I struggled frequently in both endeavors. But I still did what I needed to do.

Why?

Because I give a damn.

This may sound dumb to you, but it makes all the difference in the world when it comes to success in any form. You have to give a damn, plan and simple. It is the foundation of every bit of progress we make. It is an absolute essential.

You have been told this in various ways throughout your life, but any successful adult will tell you most people never listen. They want things, they might even have talent at them, but they never really give a damn. They expect passion to be enough, but it’s not.

Don’t get me wrong. Passion is important. It is the second building block of success immediately following giving a damn, but without a foundation it is still not enough.

There are thousands of people who want any position in life you seek to hold professionally, possibly millions, but when you get down to it there are a few hundred – at most – who are truly qualified for that position. If you are fortunate enough to be one of those capable of doing the job well you still have to stand out as a leader, and that begins with giving a damn.

Giving a damn may sound easy, but it is a daily struggle everyone faces. There are a million excuses we tell ourselves to get over the fact we aren’t doing the things we want to be doing, and the only way to make that stop is by making a conscious decision daily to live in a different manner. To do the things you don’t feel like doing because it is what needs to be done. To going the extra mile when others would rather go home. To make sacrifices, within reason, in pursuit of a better life for yourself and those around you.

If you have struggled with this before now, don’t fret. Everyone struggles every day. It is how we respond to that struggle that defines our path in life.

Life won’t wait for you or anyone else. Start today.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the host of the Inside Music podcast. 

Categories
Job Board News

‘Hustle Harder’ is bad advice

Read a motivational blog, any motivational blog, and you’re bound to see the word ‘hustle’ used as if it were going out of style. People will tell you to hustle every day, hustle nonstop, always be on your hustle, etc. But what does this really mean, and what – if anything – will hustling every day really do for your career?

I take issue with the idea we should always be hustling for a few reasons. For starters, not everyone knows how to hustle. People often confuse hustling with simply getting your work done, or doing whatever you think needs to be done in order to get ahead. That may be true in some cases, but the hustling as an idea is a bit more broad in its definition. Hustling refers to being smarter than those your competing against to get ahead. This goes beyond working hard for long hours. In fact, you don’t even need to do those things in order to truly hustle. Lots of people get ahead by doing less than their peers, and that is its own form of hustling.

Secondly, hustling every day never guarantees success. A person with a terrible voice can practice singing every day for the rest of their lives and never be half as good as the least successful major label artist. Likewise, I can hit gym every day and never gain enough muscle to be a linebacker in the NFL. Just because I want something and work diligently towards achieving it does not mean that goal will one day be achieved. It makes it more likely, sure, but that’s about it.

Third, and most importantly, some hustles are actually detrimental to your personal development. Some people spend years of their lives working toward something that is never going to happen and in the process make great sacrifices that they later regret. To understand whether or not this is happening an individual needs to disengage from their hustle and take stock of their life. They need to possess the power to step back, examine what does and does not work, then adjust their path in life accordingly. When someone hustles hard every single day, 24/7, the opportunity for reflection is lost. By the time people do think to look up, time and life has often passed them by.

Very few people hustle hard every day and achieve their goals. The vast majority hustle hard for longer than they should and realize they missed their chance to pursue what they are really passionate about. Worse yet, many often miss out on experiences with family and friends because of their dedication to the idea of hustling hard.

Those who hustle hard will inevitably burn out. Don’t hustle harder, Hustle smarter, and by that I mean constantly evaluate your situation and what you need to do to create the life you aspire to experience. Examine the world around you and ask yourself if you are really leading to the life you want. If the answer is no, adjust your trajectory and keeping moving. Then do so again and again periodically for the rest of your life.

A great hustle is just one part of the recipe for success. Other elements include talent, networking skills, and general likability. Do you really think the hardest working person always gets the job over the person people like the most, or that those who are naturally gifted in a certain field do not rise through the ranks faster than those who have to work on their talent? The idea that hustling hard will eventually give you what you want only applies in a world where things are fair and trust me – this life is not fair.

Don’t hustle just to hustle, don’t work hard just to say you drove yourself to the point of mental exhaustion, and don’t place work over people. You may never get where you hope to go, but you can still enjoy the journey.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the host of the Inside Music Podcast and a ten-year veteran of the music business. Follow him on Twitter for advice, hot takes, and pop culture references.

Categories
News

Rumors of Twitter’s impending demise have been greatly exaggerated

Culture is a beast that feeds on the latest and greatest trends. In order for culture to thrive it must always be moving forward, just like a shark through water, and in the digital age its movement is persistently gaining speed. Business, however, is another story altogether.

Critics of culture and those who obsess over numbers look at engagement booms for new products as being more meaningful than the slower, steady growth of more mature brands. You can see this in the way Snapchat has been treated over the last few years in the media compared to Instagram, or how Instagram was treated before that in comparison to Twitter.

While it is important to stay on top of emerging trends, especially where such things can be applied to your business, there is no need to abandon tried and true platforms of promotion. Just recently a fresh wave of criticism against Twitter came to light, with critics claiming the social media giant had long past its peak and was beginning to slide into the abyss where MySpace and Friendster currently reside. Those rumors, which were never anything more than that, are wrong.

While it’s true that Twitter’s revenue fell 8% last quarter, the drop was smaller than expected and sent the stock up 11% in pre-market trading Wednesday. Twitter also added 9 million new users in the last 3 months, which is the biggest quarter-over-quarter user jump for Twitter since early in 2015; and brings total users to 328 million.

Twitter also recently reported that daily active users are up 14% over the same quarter last year, which mean that users of the service are coming back more often. The reasons for this are numerous and likely tied to the recent election and the aggressive, evolved news cycle that has come from it. Regardless, the fact remains – Twitter still matters.

These numbers tell us Twitter is going to be around for the foreseeable future, but whether or not it is the place to focus your marketing efforts is something you have to figured out for yourself. Every fan base is different, as are the social media platforms they prefer. If your fans are active on Twitter and constantly engaging with your new posts then you should absolutely continue to develop that community. If your fans are engaging you more on other platforms, say Snapchat or Facebook, then you should focus more of your efforts there. Just don’t abandon Twitter altogether.

You can follow Haulix on Twitter for more news and advice columns geared toward life in the music business.

Categories
News

The incredibly simple secret to writing emails that get replies

Everyone working in music receives a lot of emails all the time for a wide variety of reasons. Writers and music critics, for example, receive press releases from anyone with an artist or release to promote who is smart enough to find their email address. They also have messages from editors, personal contacts, and – in the case of blog editors – aspiring professionals looking for an opportunity. It’s overwhelming, and it is becoming increasingly hard for any one message to stand out.

Many marketing blogs will tell you that an eye-catching subject line is all you need to get someone to open your message. This may be true in certain circumstances, but an open only brings a reader to your message – it does not make them engage with it.

If people don’t like what they see at first glance your email is no more successful than the messages that were trashed without an open. Grammar and structure aside, there is one thing that can grab the attention of a writer (or anyone) at first glance:

Use their name.

First or last or both, doesn’t matter. Just use it.

This seems surprisingly simple, and it is, but the vast majority of publicists, artists, and others vying for attention these days do not take the few seconds needed to properly address the recipient of their emails.

Here is a sampling of the most common, least engaging greetings being used today:

  • Dear Music Blogger
  • Hello, Music Friends!
  • Dear [Wrong Name]
  • Media Friends:
  • To whom it may concern
  • ATTN:
  • [Name] <– This happens when they leave what should be automated forms blank, and it happens a lot.

Technology may make connecting with one another easier than ever before, but it still lacks the personal touch of traditional conversation. Even letters written by hand required something more tactile than digital message can allow. Using someone’s name tells them you view them as something more than a faceless body existing in the void of the internet that you seek to use for leverage in the entertainment industry. It’s so simple, yet can mean so much. It tells someone you see them and their work, which often is the result of great sacrifice, and it subconsciously makes them care a bit more for what you have to share.

Categories
News

3 Month Check-In

We have reached the end of March, which means 2017 is already one-fourth complete. Time moves fast.

2017 is the year of accountability and progress, so we are here to keep our end of the agreement we made way back in January.

The last three months have been a learning experience for the Haulix team. As we prepare for our next round of development we have been thinking a lot about the future of the music business and our evolving role within it. We have asked clients and users alike what they want from us, and so far a few themes have emerged:

Mobile. A lot of people access Haulix on the go, and we expect more will do the same in the years ahead. Perfecting mobile has been a priority for some time now, and we are constantly looking for ways to improve further.

Speed. Everyone wants everything as fast as possible, and we are no exception. We recently made improvements to download speeds for all promos, and our site has never been faster.

Security. We pride ourselves in having the most secure platform in the world of digital music promotion. Our team has had a number of discussions with Fraunhoffer, the team behind both the MP3 and watermark technology, about ways to advance our efforts in preventing leaks. Some positive outcomes have already surface, and we export more will come to pass in time.

Another big goal for our team in 2017 has been updating our messaging and marketing. So far we’ve completely altered our approach to advertising online and launched our company newsletter. Response to both changes have been positive.

This may make it sound like we’re finding a lot of success in 2017. While that is true, none of it would be possible without trial and error. We internal test countless variations of things we plan to do before making any decisions. Every ad we create comes at the cost of several dozen ideas we left on the cutting floor. Every platform development was chosen as a priority over other, similarly beneficial changes.

Categories
News

The value of a hashtag

The hashtag turns 10 years old this August. (#HappyBirthday)

Think about that. In just one decade a symbol that used to be thought of as little more than a largely unused button on a phone has become one of the most utilized marketing tools in the world. From humble beginnings on Twitter, where the symbol’s use as a way to track conversations first began, the hashtag has become the global go-to tool for consumer engagement. Where it goes from here is unknown, but for now it seems safe to say the hashtag is here to stay.

Hashtags are perhaps the most useful way you to generate and monitor visibility on social media platforms. By using hashtags you can not only promote new releases and events, but also create a cross-platform space for fans to connect with one another. Hashtags allow you to cultivate a niche community across the world’s biggest social networks at cost that cannot be beat (free), and because of that they are – in today’s world – priceless.

That said, not all hashtags are the same.

In order to make the most of your hashtag you need to incredibly specific. If you are promoting a tour, for example, consider #bandnamelive or #tourname. Plaster this hashtag across all marketing materials and live appearances. Encourage fans to upload photos with the hashtag by choosing one such image to share each day through your official channels. Make them feel like every tweet they share with your hashtag furthers the movement that is your music.

You can also use hashtags to create an open and ongoing dialogue with – and between – fans online. Here’s a great example:

New Kids on the Block have a massive global audience. For years, the most dedicated followers have called themselves Blockheads, and now in the age of social media they are able to connect with one another, as well as the members of NKOTB themselves, using #BHLove. 

Donnie Wahlberg, perhaps the most famous member of NKOTB, uses this hashtag daily to reach fans. He also includes it in his bio.

You can click the hashtag #BHLove any time of day and find dozens of messages from fans around the world celebrating their ongoing love of the group’s music.

You might not yet have an audience like that of New Kids on the Block, but you have the access to the same tools they use to stay engaged with their fans. Use that to your advantage and work to create clever, original hashtags that can empower your fans to spread your news far and wide. If you can do that, there is no telling how far their love will take you.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the host of the Inside Music podcast and 10-year music writing veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.

Exit mobile version